An Ordinary Day with Strawberries
by MZephyr
Summary: An ordinary day in Nerima. Takes place shortly after the end of the manga.


**An Ordinary Day with Strawberries  
By M. Zephyr**

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. An ordinary day in Nerima.

* * *

Akane Tendo awoke to the music of a J-pop tune coming from her radio. She stretched her arms wide and gave a silent yawn, bringing herself sleepily to a sitting position. At the thought of another morning without P-chan, Akane gave a regretful smile, but she hadn't seen her pet since before the events which took her to China. Ranma had mentioned hearing that the little pig had found his way to Akari's farm and was staying there, and she wondered yet again if she should find the farm to check on her little piglet.

Once again she put the thought off. Although she never fully understood why, Akane knew that her fiancé Ranma and her little pet had never liked one another; that they had, in fact, a considerable antipathy for each other. Akari loved pigs, and could be counted on to give P-chan a good home. It seemed in a way that fate had chosen what might well be best for the little guy.

Akane sat there in bed and stared off into space as her thoughts turned to her fiancé, as they so often did on first awakening and just before falling asleep. Ranma. Ranma Saotome. A martial artist of incredible skill, whom she had lately come to realize had been training her all along, in his own illogical way. Who else would consider _dodging_ her blows to be a form of training for her? Gentle, arrogant, kindly, insulting, helpful, self-centered, and overwhelmingly contradictory Ranma Saotome. Like the wild horse for which he was named, he fought all attempts to tame him, but lately there had been signs ...

The young woman climbed out of bed, putting such thoughts aside with a small smile. Time would tell, and she was no longer so frightened of what it might have to say as she had once been. Coming more fully awake, Akane tugged off her pajamas, then quickly slipped on a sports bra, t-shirt and shorts. Heading downstairs, she pulled on her jogging shoes and tied them.

Just as Akane emerged from the front door there was a baritone yell. Looking up quickly she saw Ranma flying through the air, on a trajectory from his bedroom window straight toward the koi pond. There was a tremendous splash and the flaming red hair of his cursed female body emerged from the pond, a fountain of water shooting from his mouth. Ranma's father Genma, wearing a bandanna to hide his baldness as always, jumped down to land lightly on the grass. Ranma jumped out of the pond and their morning sparring match was on.

The sight was utterly familiar to her by this time, and only brought another smile to her face. In fact, during those few weeks when both Ranma and his father had been in China, she had been surprised to find herself missing their daily workouts. That was of course before her own abduction, which had resulted in her presence in China along with them.

That thought threatened to bring forth a flood of memories, both terrifying and wonderful. Memories which she did not wish to intrude upon this quiet, pleasant morning. Akane turned her back to the battle in the side yard, walked over to the gate, stepped through, and headed off on her morning jog.

It promised to be a beautiful June day, even though the sun was not yet very far above the horizon. Most of the households in the neighborhood were still sleeping. Akane loved this time of day. As her feet pounded on the pavement, and her lungs sucked in the dewy morning air, she could almost imagine herself a few years in the past. Back before so much chaos had erupted into her life, with the coming of Ranma, and the engagement she fought so hard and so long against. Or which she _had_ fought against, not so very long ago.

Akane returned from the jog in good spirits. Ranma was already kneeling at the low table which served the combined Saotome and Tendo household. Akane knelt down beside him, taking her accustomed place. He was still in his female form, not yet having changed back to a boy.

The others trailed in one by one, more or less wakeful. Akane's older sister Nabiki, now a first year student at Todai. Their father Soun, unfolding his morning newspaper, and beginning to read. Ranma's parents, Genma and Nodoka Saotome, his father in his cursed form as a panda bear, and his mother as immaculate as ever in her kimono. Akane's oldest sister Kasumi entered the room and placed the dishes on the table with a her usual elegant grace.

Kasumi served Nodoka first, then her father. After serving her two sisters, she took a portion for herself, then leaned back. As if on cue, Ranma and Genma dove forward, serving themselves, fighting each other for the remaining food. Their chopsticks flew, and food disappeared into their mouths before the other could steal it. The two of them were done before anyone else was half finished, despite the fact that they had eaten twice as much.

Ranma leaned back with a smile, replete. "That was pretty good, Kasumi."

The older girl smiled prettily. "Thank you, Ranma-kun."

Akane braced herself, in case her fiancé chose to take this opportunity to say something about her own cooking skills. She relaxed when the moment passed. "It really is good, oneechan," she offered on her own. "It's just right for today. It looks like it's going to be a great day. A day for cherry blossoms, and peach ice cream, and warm breezes. And strawberries. Strawberries would make today perfect."

Ranma gave a light snort, but again chose to make no comment. In fact, the corners of his mouth were lifted ever so slightly. Genma on the other hand announced, "Weather forecast says it might rain."

"What are your plans for today?" Nodoka asked her son.

Ranma looked up, eyebrows drawn down in faint puzzlement. He could never quite figure his mother out. "Er, well, school of course. Both Akane and I got cleanup duty after. Then we'll come home, and I'll work out in the dojo the rest of the afternoon. Homework after supper. Teachers seem to think that now we're seniors we oughta be working harder than ever."

"Hah. You ought to try college if you want to know what hard work is." Nabiki's words were laden with feeling.

"Don't quite think I'm college material, but thanks anyway," Ranma said with a smirk.

"You and Akane should spend some time together after school," Nodoka said, gazing at her son meaningfully. "Why don't you go to the park for a while."

Ranma stared at his mother blankly, while Akane looked down at her lap. "What would we do there?" the boy asked.

His mother's lips pressed together slightly. "Walk. Talk. You don't get enough chances to do that."

The boy looked honestly bewildered. "Why would we wanna? What would me and the tomboy talk about?" With trepidation he noticed that Akane's face was growing red with anger. He wondered what he had said to set her off this time.

Nodoka gave an exasperated sigh. "Just do it Ranma-kun. Please? If you do, maybe you'll start to figure out why you should."

Ranma shrugged his acquiescence, unwilling to say no to his mother. Truth to tell, there were a lot of things he wanted to talk about with Akane. He just couldn't imagine himself starting a conversation with her about any of them.

Across town, a Chinese girl by the name of Shampoo was flying through her morning chores in her great-grandmother's restaurant, the Nekohanten. If she finished on time, she would be able to get on her bicycle and go meet her husband-to-be, Ranma, on his way to school. It was very important to do so, in order to remind him that he was supposed to marry her. This had become even more important since the recent events in China, when ...

Shampoo slammed a door shut on that thought. For some four months now she had been exquisitely careful not to think about it. Ranma was in love with her. He had to be in love with her. Just because he had destroyed an immortal being to save the life of ...

With a muttered oath, Shampoo slammed the door in her mind again.

"Shampoo, did you beat Mousse up again last night?"

The girl looked up at the sound of her great-grandmother Cologne's voice. With an irritated frown she remembered the restaurant's other employee, her would-be suitor Mousse, attempting to hug her last night.

"Yes great-grandmother. Stupid Mousse hug Shampoo last night. Teach him lesson won't soon forget."

"You certainly did," the ancient woman said as she appeared in the doorway. "Mister Part-time is going to be completely useless today, until some of those injuries heal. I'm afraid you're going to have to do his chores as well."

"But great-grandmother ..."

"But me no buts, child," Cologne said sternly. "You need to think about the consequences of your actions. We can't afford not to open on time, which means someone's got to do the work, and you've seen to it that Mousse cannot. So get busy." She turned and left without waiting for a response.

Shampoo sighed bitterly, but was forced to admit that she should have known better. She thought glumly of the extra work to be done, realizing this meant that not only would she fail to see Ranma on his way to school but that she also wouldn't be able to take any breaks after the café opened. Perhaps she'd have a chance to meet her airen tomorrow morning.

When Ranma and Akane arrived at school, they found Tatewaki Kuno waiting in front of the gate as usual, holding his bokken aloft. The samurai wannabe may have graduated in March, but that did not stop him from making his morning challenges. Neither Akane nor Ranma slowed down. They leaped over the swing of his bokken, kicked him simultaneously in the face, and sped past his fallen body to get into the school before the bell rang.

On the way across the schoolyard Ranma pulled a tennis racket out of a gym bag carried by a fellow student. He responded to the startled shout with a promise to return it in class. At that moment a pineapple came flying at him, a burning fuse sticking out of one end. With a deft swing of the racket Ranma batted it in the direction from which it had come, through the window of the principal's office. There was an explosion and a charred figure with a miniature palm tree on its head staggered to the window, tripped over the sill, and landed in the bushes below.

The two seniors slid into the chairs at their desks just as the bell rang, sharing a mutual smile for this achievement. Their smiles dissolved into embarrassment on noticing the smirks on the faces of their classmates, and they concentrated on pulling out their textbooks while studiously ignoring each other.

When lunchtime rolled around most of the students headed outside to eat, so they could enjoy the beautiful day. It was warm and sunny, although a few clouds were drifting across the sky which had been an unbroken blue a few hours earlier. Ranma and Akane sat down beside each other under a tree. The lunches prepared by Kasumi were soon finished. They both leaned their backs against the trunk of the tree, enjoying the weather together in silence.

Their classmate Ukyo Kuonji strolled over and set up her portable grill a couple of meters from Ranma. Thanks to his father's foolishness, Ukyo was also a fiancée, although she lacked the overt support of Ranma's parents which Akane enjoyed. Not to mention the little matter of where Ranma's own heart lay, although Ukyo was very determined not to let herself see that.

Ukyo poured batter on the grill, releasing an enticing aroma into the air which drew the attention of those students who had not already seen her setting up. "Hey Ran-chan," she called, "ready for one of my specials?"

Ranma nodded happily, causing Akane to scowl. She couldn't understand why he was unable to see that Ukyo was trying to employ the old adage of the way to a man's heart being through his stomach. Akane also felt a jealous twinge that her own attempts in that direction were such miserable failures. On the other hand it seemed much too nice a day to give way to rage. With an effort she slowly relaxed her tensed muscles, preparing herself to ignore Ranma while he ate and commented on how delicious it was.

The teenage chef flipped the okonomiyaki toward Ranma and he snagged it out of the air easily. "Thanks, Ucchan," he told the girl. "You're the best."

Ukyo preened at this comment, but then her face fell and she stared aghast. Ranma carefully tore the okonomiyaki into two portions, and offered half to the girl sitting beside him. Ukyo and Akane both looked at the large slice as if it were foreign, incomprehensible.

Finally Akane looked up to meet Ranma's eyes. "For me?" she asked timidly.

He nodded. "Yeah. Thought I'd share."

Ranma smiled happily as Akane nervously lifted it from his hands and took a bite. As she slowly chewed, he stuffed his own portion into his mouth and gobbled it down, making it vanish.

"You ... you ... _jackass_!"

Ranma turned in the direction of the shout, staring at his friend Ukyo. Her face was twisted in fury, and he realized resignedly that he'd apparently done something else wrong. The realization was confirmed as she slowly reached behind her back and lifted her massive battle spatula from its sheath. The boy noted that she was grinding her teeth together, and wondered if he should point out what that would do to the enamel.

Ukyo screamed a loud "kiyaa" and swung the spatula around, with the apparent intention of taking off Ranma's head. He of course jumped out of the way and landed on the blade of the weapon, staring down at his friend curiously. She flipped the blade over, making him jump to the ground, where he rolled to allow the next swing to pass safely overhead.

As Ranma bounced around avoiding the spatula, he tried to reason with her. "Hey, Ucchan, what'd I do? Is it 'cause I didn't eat the whole thing? Should I have asked you to make another one for Akane?"

This didn't seem to be what Ukyo wanted to hear, as she chased Ranma with renewed vigor. Akane sighed, picking up Ranma's bento along with her own, and headed back for their classroom. She wasn't particularly concerned that Ranma was in any danger. No doubt he viewed the exercise as being something on the order of a game of tag, however serious Ukyo's intent might temporarily be.

Sure enough Ranma slid into his seat just before the bell rang, signaling the start of the next class period. Ukyo of course did not join them, as she always left school at midday to open her restaurant. No doubt she had run out of time during her chase, and given up in frustration.

The afternoon passed quickly. After the final bell of the day, Ranma, Akane and Akane's friends Yuka and Sayuri stayed behind to clean up. Ranma started stacking chairs on desks while the girls went to collect the brooms and things.

"So, Akane, any new challengers lately?" Yuka asked breathlessly.

"How many times has Ranma saved your life this week?" Sayuri wanted to know.

Akane laughed easily. These two were her oldest friends, and they had listened earnestly as she poured out her worries and complaints on numerous occasions, concerning Ranma and the complications he had brought into her life. They were sometimes a little too eager to hear the next installment, but she could live with that.

"Only once, at least if you consider it saving my life to wrestle with a Saint Bernard that was intent on licking my face all over. Honestly, while we've had several run-ins with various nuts in the last few months, the last situation that was life threatening was the China mess, back in February. And I wish you two could remember that I've saved Ranma's life a few times myself. Including that time in China."

Sayuri clasped her hands together. "But it's just so romantic. Having your fiancé come to your rescue and save you."

Akane's eyes turned sad and introspective, seeing something distant. She quietly tried to explain yet again, "It isn't romantic. It's scary. Especially when you know that he might die. _Because_ he's trying to save you." Akane smiled weakly as she saw the lack of comprehension on her friends' faces. It was perhaps too much to ask them to understand a reality which lay so far beyond their experience. Nor would she wish such an experience on them.

The cleaning didn't take long, especially when two of the workers were martial artists who insisted on treating it as a form of practice, an exercise in speed and dexterity. With a knowing glance at each other, Yuka and Sayuri stepped back out of the way and took their ease, watching the other two do the job in their own unique fashion. Ranma and Akane gave every appearance of having trained long hours to achieve perfect synchronization of their movements. It was an awe inspiring spectacle, all the more so when one knew that it was entirely impromptu.

When they were done and leaving the school, Yuka said, "Hey, Akane. Would you and Sayuri like to come over to my house? We could watch a movie and share some gossip." All three girls affected not to notice the way that Ranma was rolling his eyes.

Akane turned her friend down with a smile. "Thanks anyway, but I sort of promised Ranma's mother that I'd, uh, do something for her. See you tomorrow." With a wave of her hand she and Ranma took off running. Neither one spoke during the run, and minutes later they passed the gate of the Tendo home, Akane going through it and Ranma jumping over.

As Akane pulled off her uniform in her room, she thought about what she had told Yuka. Truthfully, she hadn't promised Aunt Nodoka anything. It was Ranma who had agreed to his mother's request to take her to the park. She had never said that she would go with him. Akane wondered if Ranma even remembered the brief exchange.

Just in case he did, Akane slipped into a sundress which would catch the June breezes pleasantly, hoping that the promised rain would hold off. She also selected a hat with a wide brim and a ribbon trailing down behind, which went well with the dress. Considering the effect in her mirror, the young woman gave herself a grin and skipped down the stairs.

Ranma was standing in the genkan, shoes on his feet, waiting. Akane slipped on a pair of sandals and they walked out the door together, neither one having spoken. On exiting the gate, they turned in unison to walk down the sidewalk in the direction of the park. Akane wondered briefly if Ranma might try to hold her hand, but he made no move to do so.

As they walked through the park, the young couple started to speak of inconsequentials. The antics of schoolmates, and teachers. Reminiscences of past adventures. The flow of conversation came in staccato bursts, punctuated by long periods of awkward silence. They came to a swing set and sat beside one another on swings, rocking slightly back and forth.

Akane looked up at the sky. There were more clouds now than earlier, occasionally blocking the sun. But they were big and white and puffy, not dark and threatening. "It looks like it might not rain after all," she ventured.

Ranma looked up at the sky and admitted, "That'd be nice. I'd like to stay a guy till we get back."

‹Oh, God,› Akane thought to herself. ‹We're reduced to talking about the weather. Come on, think.›

After a couple of more seconds Akane remarked, "It's been pretty peaceful lately, hasn't it? No insanely powerful people trying to kill us or anything. Just the ordinary stuff like Kuno. Heck, we didn't even see Shampoo today."

Ranma lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not gonna complain about it. Some of the guys at school seem to think I live for the chaos, the times when it gets crazy. They don't believe me when I say I could use a little more boredom."

Akane chuckled. "I know what you mean. Yuka and Sayuri are getting frustrated that I don't have any new bizarre stories to tell them. I think I've become a form of entertainment to them."

The conversation lapsed again. Ranma kicked at the dirt below his feet in frustration, making his swing rock a little harder. "I'm sorry. I'm just not much good at this."

"At what?" she asked him.

Ranma spread his arms. "Talking. Doing ordinary things. I don't ... I just don't know how." His hands returned to the chains of the swing, gripping them while he scowled his discomfort.

Akane frowned in thought, considering his words. "Well," she suggested at last, "you didn't really get much practice, did you? Growing up, I mean. Your life wasn't very ordinary."

He snorted. "You can say that again. Still ain't."

Akane continued to speak slowly, exploring this idea. "So I guess the surprise isn't that you aren't the world's best conversationalist, as it is that you manage as well as you do. Do you remember what you were like when you first arrived? Here in Nerima, that is?"

"Uh ..." Ranma stared into the distance.

She didn't wait for him to try to guess where she was going, and explained. "On days like today, ordinary days, days when not much was happening ... You couldn't sit still. You'd train in the dojo, interrupt your dad's shogi game to make him spar with you, pick fights with me. You certainly wouldn't have just sat with me quietly. And as for small talk ...! Insults would be about the best anyone could expect from you."

Akane turned and looked at him, catching his eye so that he returned her look from the short distance they sat apart. She said seriously, "Don't you see how far you've come? You've had to learn how to act when your life is ordinary. You shouldn't let it bother you that you have more to learn. I, uh, ..." Her cheeks grew faintly pink. "I admit I haven't always been this understanding about it. I guess I had some things to learn too."

Ranma's gaze was locked on hers, as if he were looking deep within her. Finally he turned aside to face forward again. "Thanks. I think." One corner of his mouth was turned upward. Akane also turned forward.

Another silence fell between them, but this one was more comfortable. Each of them was remembering the last couple of years, and thinking over how much the relationship between them had changed since they met. After some more time passed Akane suggested, "I guess we ought to head home. Otherwise there won't be time to work out before supper."

Ranma nodded. They both stood up and started walking, side by side. Ranma's face turned toward Akane's a couple of times, pondering, then slowly, tentatively, he reached out with his arm. She noticed but forced herself not to react until his hand slid into hers. Unable to keep a smile off her face, Akane allowed her fingers to grip his hand back. The trip home seemed very short.

When Akane entered the dojo in her gi, she found Ranma already there before her, working his way through a slow kata. She spent several minutes loosening up before beginning a kata of her own. A short time later Ranma suggested, nonchalantly, "You wanna spar?"

Akane nodded although for form's sake she also told him sternly, "But I want you to fight me for real this time."

Of course, like always, Ranma dodged her punches and kicks instead of blocking or striking back. Acting on her recent enlightenment concerning his intention during these sparring sessions, Akane made an effort not to get upset with him. Instead she concentrated on doing her best to tag him, to make some sort of connection. She was sure that it wasn't her imagination that she was getting closer, especially when she felt herself touch the cloth of a sleeve or pants leg a few times.

‹One of these days,› she thought to herself fiercely, ‹one of these days, Ranma Saotome, I'm going to force you to block one of my punches. I don't think it's that far off, either. And you know what? I have this sneaky suspicion you're looking forward to it as much as me.›

A smile formed on Ranma's face as he realized that once again, just as in the last several workouts they'd had, Akane wasn't getting intensely angry about him dodging. She was entirely focused on doing her best to hit him. This was one of the best times of day to him, getting to see that look of concentration combined with the sheen of sweat on her face. If the other girls had any idea what was in his heart at such moments, they'd go absolutely ballistic.

The sparring continued until Kasumi called them in to wash up for dinner. The families were soon gathered around the table, enjoying another fine meal. Of course, Genma had to ruin it by asking, "So, Tendo-kun, do you think it's time to start planning another wedding?"

Soun turned to regard his youngest daughter and her fiancé, but before he could say anything Ranma burst out with, "Stuff it, old man! You aren't going to force me to marry Akane!"

Akane was about to round on him with an angry shout, when she pulled herself up short. Had there been something just a little ... off ... about what Ranma said? Something a bit different about the wording?

While she puzzled over this and Ranma uncoiled himself from the defensive posture he had taken at her flinch, Nodoka drew herself up sternly. "Ranma-kun, you should not speak so disrespectfully."

Hoping to head off a possible argument, or worse, Kasumi spoke up quickly. "Has everyone noticed what lovely weather we've had today? It looks like it decided not to rain after all."

Akane smiled at this, thinking back over the events of the day. "Yes, it's been a great day! Almost perfect, in fact." She turned back to her meal and began eating again, her momentary flash of temper all but forgotten.

Something about Akane's words nagged at Ranma's mind. He'd heard her say something like that at some point today, hadn't he? At breakfast, wasn't it? He remained silent, eating the food in front of him, as he struggled to recall her statement. A few minutes later his mouth curved ever so slightly upward.

After supper was over, Akane turned to Ranma and started to say, "I'm going to work on my homework now and if ..."

He interrupted before she could complete the sentence. "Sounds great. I got to go out for a bit. I'll be back in a little while." Ranma vanished, leaving Akane staring at the space he had occupied only a second ago.

"Fine," she huffed quietly, low enough that no one could overhear. "I'll just go and work on the homework by myself. Whatever was I thinking, to imagine that baka might be willing to spend time on homework." Akane marched up the stairs to her room, carefully not stomping.

Akane had almost finished reading her history assignment when a knock came on her bedroom door. Looking up curiously, she called, "Come in!"

To her surprise, Ranma was standing there when the door swung open. Both of his hands were hidden behind his back. He stepped into the room and kicked the door shut behind him. He stepped closer but then stopped, nervous, chewing on his lip.

"Sooo ..." Akane drawled at last, "what brought you up here?"

Ranma went still and an air of determination settled over him. "It really was a pretty good day wasn't it? I mean, kind of ordinary, but ... that's good, right? Peaceful. No big fights."

Akane leaned back in the chair, resting against her desk, as she contemplated him. Trying to guess what he was getting at. "Yeah," she admitted. "It was pretty good."

The young man standing in front of her breathed heavily as he searched for words. "I know I ain't much good at talking. But at breakfast you said it looked like it might be a great day. And that there was one thing that'd make the day perfect. And, well, here."

Ranma brought his left hand out from behind his back while his face turned a rosy hue. The hand was holding a basket of strawberries. Akane's face lit at the sight, and Ranma's heart immediately felt a lot lighter. He walked over and put them on the desk.

"I brought this too," he said cheerfully, bringing his other hand out from behind his back. Cupped in it was a bowl of freshly whipped cream. He put it on the desk beside the strawberries.

Akane picked up a strawberry happily. It was firm, ripe, beautiful. She looked up with a huge smile on her face. "You'll stay and have some too, right? Come on, sit down. Or, why don't you go get your schoolbooks first? We can work on our homework together while we eat them."

Ranma made a face at the thought of homework, but couldn't hold it while confronted with her blazing smile. He trudged off, grabbed his schoolbag, and was back within moments. When he came back in the room he saw that Akane had already dipped a strawberry in the cream, taken a bite out of it, and her eyes were closed in ecstasy. It took him a couple of seconds to remember how to breathe.

The two teenagers spent the next couple of hours dutifully working through their assignments, and slowly emptying the basket of fruit. They discussed the homework easily, without arguments or insults, although the berries did compel them to interrupt the conversation with occasional pleasurable silences. The look of sheer pleasure on Akane's face after each bite did strange things to Ranma's insides, but it was a strangeness he was more than willing to endure. In fact, it was with a touch of sorrow that he realized the basket was empty and the last assignment completed.

Akane glanced at the clock. "Well, I guess it's time to start getting ready for bed. Thank you for the strawberries. They really were perfect."

Ranma scuffed lightly at the floor with his foot. "It wasn't anything, really," he responded, half embarrassed. "I just ... I wanted you to ..." He broke off, unable to find the words to express what he was thinking, then slipped out of the room quickly to avoid further embarrassment.

Akane stared after him for a moment, shaking her head but smiling. She turned back to her desk and lifted a discarded leaf to her nose, breathing in the aroma, closing her eyes once more. Letting it fall back into the basket, she walked over to her door to close it and then began preparing herself for bed. She was humming softly as she did so, and even dancing a little.

The day finally came to an end as she turned off her light and slid under the bed covers. Her head settled on the pillow and she turned on her side, curling up slightly. A nearly full moon found its way through the curtains to cast a small square of light on the floor.

Akane smiled gently as she lay between the soft sheets and her eyelids grew heavy. She thought about how her friends sometimes acted as though her life were one unending adventure, every day filled with strange new martial artists and fights to the death. But while such things did happen, the very excitement of the events exaggerated their scope in other people's minds. The truth was that those times were the exception, not the rule. Days like today, when nothing extraordinary happened, helped to keep her sane, ready to face the next challenge. Most especially, such days helped to remind her of what life with Ranma would be like, when the two of them finally convinced the rivals to give up the long struggle. Akane treasured days like today. Her thoughts grew sleepy. Days like today. Today.

Just an ordinary day ... with strawberries.

** THE END **

* * *

**Author's note:**

I wonder how many people kept expecting some typical Ranma-esque insanity to occur. If so - surprise! This story was inspired by the thought of what the rest of the time is like for Akane and Ranma, the days that fall between the times when they're caught up in bizarre chaotic events. Days when there are no major fights or arguments. I think there must be plenty of days like that for them, completely ordinary days, but one rarely reads about them. So here is my waffy take on what such a day might be like.

Oh, and there's no connection with the short story "One Ordinary Day with Peanuts" by Shirley Jackson. I only noticed the similarity of title afterward.

_Related sites on the web:_ Please visit my profile page for information on upcoming chapters or stories, by clicking on my name at the top of this chapter. My profile also has links to my web site, LiveJournal site and forum. The web site contains the official versions of my stories. The LiveJournal site provides updates on what I am working upon at any given time. The forum is a place to discuss my stories or _Ranma 1/2_ in general.


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